Trump is still pushing for a new agreement with Iran

Professor of Government and International Affairs at George Mason University Edward Rhodes believes that President Trump entered office thinking that foreign policy was simple and easy.  He has been discovering, as some of his advisors and nearly all of the policy community warned him, that foreign policy is in fact more complicated. 

“But in general, the Trump administration's foreign policies have not been particularly successful, even measured against the goals and metrics suggested by the administration itself.”  

He noted that in some policy areas, particularly the maintenance of effective relationships with close American allies and other societies sharing America's liberal values, the Trump administration's policies have been disastrous. 

“Similarly, despite the president's claims to the contrary, any reasonable calculation of the American economic interests would indicate that his administration's policies have weakened rather than strengthened America's economic health and competitiveness,” he added.

Speaking to ILNA news agency, he refers to U.S policy in Middle East and said that the president had no clear sense of the political complexities of the region or of the likely consequences of changes in American policies -- for example, terminating the JCPOA, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, or reducing American military presence.

The professor at George Mason University confirmed “As fashionable as it may be to blame the United States, or the Trump Administration, for causing the conflicts within the Islamic world, it is in fact the case that these problems.”

Asked about the consequence of the assassination of Iran's commander in the US invasion, The international expert said “Certainly the Iranian people have legitimate grievances against the behavior of the U.S. government.”

 “There is, however, substantial overlap between the hopes and goals of the Iranian people and of the American people.  It is the task of responsible leaders in both nations to create a dialog based on these shared hopes and goals, rather than on a reiteration of mutual grievances.”

Edward Rhodes confirmed that Iran's retaliation successfully conveyed two messages.  The first is that Iran does not seek to provoke a war with the United States and the second is a reminder that Iran does indeed possess the conventional forces necessary to make the continued U.S. presence in the region untenable, and that it has the ability to force upon the United States a decision either to withdraw militarily from the region or to go to war against Iran.

Referring to the next presidential election in the United States, the U.S expert said that there is growing pressure on the president to resolve the current impasse before the November elections. 

“If, however, the president can reach an agreement with the Iranian government that he can present to the American people as a "win" -- that is, an agreement settling back the clock on Iranian nuclear development and promising a halt or significant reduction in Iranian support for what the United States regards as terrorist groups -- then the president will nearly certainly grab it,” he said.

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